by Jane Jamison
“Yeah, but I’m thinking he’d do well at barrel racing, too.” Steve chewed on a stick then tossed it to the ground.
“Both of you are wrong.”
The tone of Aiden’s voice had everyone turning to look at him. Celia hoped the strong tug at her abdomen she got from scanning her gaze over his firm body didn’t show on her face.
“What do you have in mind, Aiden?” Mark hooked a rope over the fence post.
“This is Celia’s horse.”
Celia had to think to close her mouth. “Mine? But why? I’m not a good rider. Besides, I don’t even live here.” She frowned. “Why did you bring the horse here anyway? He doesn’t belong to Sandy or her men so why didn’t you break him at your place?”
Trent glanced at Steve and Aiden then his attention landed on her. “We weren’t sure we could get you to come back to our home, so we brought the horse to you. This is our way of asking you to stay on. What do you say, Celia? Will you stay?”
She opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words. What did he mean? Did they really want her to stay? Were they asking her to live with them in the same way Sandy lived with her men?
Sandy’s grin couldn’t have been any wider, and she bounced up and down on her feet. Her men gathered around her as though voicing their unspoken agreement. When Celia looked at Steve and Trent, she saw their love as clearly as if they’d said it out loud. They wanted her to stay.
Swallowing, she moved her gaze to Aiden and almost fainted. Gone was the guarded look he usually had. Instead, his expression was open, ready to hear her answer. Before she could speak, he let her off the hook.
“I think maybe Celia needs to think about it. If it’s okay with these boys, we’ll let Glory stay here so you can ride him anytime you like. As far as the others are concerned, we’re yours for the taking.”
Celia swallowed again, this time the knot going down harder. Just a few hours earlier, she doubted she and Aiden would ever get together. Now it seemed like the whole world had been handed to her on a silver platter.
Aiden slapped Steve on the shoulder, breaking the mood. “You’re up, man.”
Steve put a booted foot on a fence slat and threw his body over in one quick move. He landed on his feet, dirt flying up then settling on top of his boots. Making a clicking sound, he edged toward the jittery animal.
“Easy, boy. I’m not going to hurt you.” Steve walked slowly but purposefully toward the horse. “There’s a good boy. You know why I’m here and what we need from you.”
Celia leaned toward Sandy, keeping her voice low. “What is he? The Horse Whisperer?”
“No. He’s better. They all are. You’d think a horse would be afraid of them, but they have this wonderful way with all kinds of animals.”
“Like they speak their language?”
Sandy pulled a stand of blonde hair away from her face. “Exactly.”
Celia frowned. She’d been half joking with the question, but Sandy had answered as though it were a fact. She held her breath as Steve moved closer to the large animal. Although she wasn’t a country girl, she knew enough to be careful around horses. Especially untamed horses.
Steve, please be careful.
Almost as though he’d heard her thought, he glanced over his shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. His blond hair shone in the sunlight, and the T-shirt he wore clung to his muscles.
Celia couldn’t help but admire the way her man looked. He moved like a cat on the prowl, slow and easy. Just like the way he’d thrust his cock inside her pussy. She mentally shook herself at the idea. Was she already too close to the men? Or was that the way it was supposed to be? Should she accept their offer to stay?
Steve held out his hand and lowered his voice. She couldn’t hear what he said any longer, but she could see the horse’s reaction. Glory fixed his attention on the man and reached out with his long neck to sniff at Steve. For several minutes, Steve and the horse stood just staring at each other as if nothing else existed in the world.
Trent opened the gate, closed it behind him, and walked toward Steve and Glory. The horse nickered at his approach, whirled, and trotted to the other side of the corral. The men stayed where they were, and Trent stretched out his hand, too.
Glory paced to one side of the corral, stopped and looked at the men, then hurried back to the other side. Taking care to move as quietly as possible, Celia skirted the edge of the enclosure so she could reach a position at the fence where she could see both men’s faces.
They’re talking to Glory. She could see their lips moving but still couldn’t hear what they said. She wondered if horses had better hearing and could hear the men or if the men’s murmurs were meant more to calm the horse than to give him directions.
Glory faced them, pawed the ground, and shook his head. At last, however, the horse inched closer and sniffed Trent’s hand then Steve’s again.
Aiden eased through the same gate Trent had used. He stood, watching the horse and his partners before striding toward them. His long gait ate up the ground. Glory bolted away from Steve and Trent, but they remained standing, their arms out, their palms facing upward. Aiden took a position next to Steve, stuck out his arm like his friends’, and let out a long, slow whistle.
Glory danced on his feet and whirled once then twice. The horse started toward the men then backed off. Again and again, Glory did the same thing, as though trying to make up his mind whether to trust the men.
Aiden whistled again, and Glory shook his head then walked up to Aiden. He sniffed his hand and snorted, but Aiden didn’t move. Aiden joined his friends as their lips moved, saying the soft words.
Celia watched, dumbstruck, as Steve stepped toward the horse and ran his hand along the shiny coat of Glory’s neck. Trent moved to the other side of the horse, sliding his hand along its neck as Steve had done. Aiden stayed where he was, still talking to the horse, which seemed entranced by his voice.
Aiden continued to talk to the horse as he petted him on the nose. He nodded at Steve, who grabbed the horse’s mane and jumped onto Glory’s back.
Celia expected Glory to jolt, to buck, to try to throw Steve off. Instead, Glory’s eyes widened but never left Aiden’s face.
“Is that amazing or what?”
Celia startled at Sandy’s voice. “Yeah. They need to take their act to Vegas. Forget the white tigers, this is the show to see.”
Steve leaned over to caress Glory’s neck and whispered in his ear. At once, the horse whirled away from Aiden and Trent to trot to the far side of the corral. Steve sat straight and tall in the saddle, using his knees to stay on as well as to guide the animal.
Aiden and Trent strode from the enclosure. Sandy’s men greeted them with handshakes of congratulations.
Celia kept her eyes on Steve riding Glory around the pen, still expecting the horse to react to its first time of carrying a rider. She hurried to the others. “That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.”
Trent hugged her. “You’re the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.”
She blushed and let him pull her tighter to his body. Aiden’s attention was fixed on Steve and Glory, but she could see how pleased he was.
“We’ll try him with a saddle tomorrow, but it won’t be long before you can ride him.”
“So you were serious? He’s mine?” She’d almost said, “You’re mine,” but caught the words before they could slip out.
Aiden’s dark eyes warmed her from the outside to the core of her pussy. “Of course I was.”
She reached for him, but he didn’t notice as he pivoted on his heel and strode back to the gate to call to Steve. Embarrassed by her awkward move, she dropped her hand to her side and lowered her gaze. Would she ever completely understand him?
“Don’t mind Aiden. He’s all business when it comes to horses.”
She let the flash of heat from Trent wash through her. “If you say so.”
“I say so.” He pulled her around, taking her
in his arms and nuzzling her neck. “Hey, I have an idea. Let’s go on a picnic.”
Thrown by his abrupt switch in the conversation, she couldn’t help but giggle. She wasn’t used to such overt displays of affection, but she couldn’t resist him. “A picnic? With you?”
“Of course with me. Along with Aiden and Steve.”
Surprised, she couldn’t help but feel elated that she’d get to spend time with all three men. “Sure. What should I bring?”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll pick up some fried chicken and sides from Milly’s in town. As for drinks, would you prefer wine, beer, whiskey? Name your poison.”
“Whatever you want is okay with me.”
Trent turned her loose, his gaze drawn by Aiden’s gesture for him to come into the pen. “Great. It’s settled then. We’ll pick you up around two this afternoon.”
She still tingled in the places where he’d touched her. But even more in the place where she wanted him to touch her. “Are you sure I can’t bring anything?”
His heated gaze made promises she looked forward to him keeping. “Just you, baby. You’re all we’ll ever need.”
Chapter Seven
Trent burst out of Milly’s Coffee Spot carrying two enormous picnic baskets. Celia squirmed in between Steve and Aiden in the cab of their pickup and waited as Trent loaded the two baskets into the rear seat then slid in beside them.
Celia craned her neck around to take a good look at the baskets. “Two baskets? Not to mention how large they are. One’s not enough?”
Trent glanced at the baskets, a frown creasing his forehead. “Yeah. Just two. We’ve had picnics where we took three and four baskets, but we’re trying to make it look like we’re not such pigs.”
Aiden gave her a small smile then backed the pickup into the street and headed the vehicle down Main Street.
Within a few minutes, they were out of town, passing acreage where cattle and horses dotted the landscape. She saw a road sign stating that Shatland was twenty-five miles away.
“Were they able to get the right one, Aiden?”
“The right one of what, Steve?” She couldn’t keep the smile from her face. Her stomach was already rumbling from the tantalizing aroma of fried chicken and potatoes. She was dying to see what was in the baskets.
“It’s a surprise.” Trent pushed Aiden on the shoulder from behind. “How’d you know they’d have what we wanted?”
“I called them almost a month ago so they’d stock some of my favorites. It takes time to get the good ones shipped from Dallas to Shatland, but they got most of my order. Since no one around here’s going to know they have them, then they should all be there to choose from.”
“Choose from what?” Celia leaned closer to Aiden even though her shoulder already touched his. But she wanted to feel more of their electrifying connection. “I’m not getting pranked, am I?”
Steve chuckled and placed his hand over hers. “Yeah, that’s it. This is an elaborate scheme to get you to go cow tipping with us. You get to choose the cow.”
Celia stared at his hand on top of hers. How could such a simple touch give her such an amazing sensation? A sensation that was already wetting her pussy. “Cow tipping? What’s that?”
The men gawked at her as though she’d asked what spurs were. “Come on. You’re pulling our leg. You don’t know what cow tipping is?” Steve shook his head. “I thought you were a real Texas gal.”
She checked Aiden for help and got the same disappointed look. “I’m sorry, but I don’t. Tell me what it is.”
Aiden, his expression serious, told her, “Cow tipping is where you go into a pasture, sneak up on a cow then push it over.”
Shock had her chin dropping toward the floor. “Wait. You mean you catch a poor cow and just push it over? How awful. How could you guys treat an animal so badly?”
“It’s not like it really hurts the dumb thing. We pick it up and put it back on its feet.” Steve’s voice cracked at the end, and his lips started curling up.
“No way. I won’t be a party to anything so mean. If you think I’m going to harm a cow or even watch you do it, you’re out of your mind, and you can take me home right now.”
She waited, the anger she was experiencing mixing with confusion. But before long, the men were laughing and shaking their heads. Even Aiden, who had remained solemn through most of the ride, broke into a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” She tried to act irritated but couldn’t keep their humor from infecting her. Even though she still didn’t understand what was funny about pushing a cow over, she couldn’t help but join in.
“Celia, we’re pulling your leg. Cow tipping is a myth. I’ve never known anyone who actually tipped over a cow. You’d have to have several very strong men to do it.”
She narrowed her eyes at them, almost afraid to believe them. “You promise? You’ve never tipped a cow?”
“Hell no. Cows mean money to ranchers. No way would I risk hurting a cow, breaking its leg or whatever, even if I thought we could do it.”
The sparkle in Aiden’s eye calmed her. She took a deep breath, her anger dissipating. “Good. I don’t think I could hang around anyone who could be cruel to an animal.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” Trent said. “What we’re really talking about is Shatland Liquor. Forever doesn’t have a liquor store, so we have to go into Shatland to pick up anything other than beer and cheap wine.”
She shoved him and laughed. “I should’ve known better coming from Mr. Prankster. Is that how you supplied your wine cellar?”
Steve cranked up the air conditioner. “Yep. Although I think we’re the unofficial liquor store for our town. If anyone in Forever needs a bottle for a special event, they usually get it from us.”
“Usually for free, too.” Aiden scowled at Steve. “Which needs to stop.”
Steve chuckled at Aiden’s hard look. “What am I supposed to do? Tell them they can’t have wine for their anniversary? Or how about Old Lady Wilson’s ninetieth birthday? Was I supposed to tell her to shove it and drive her arthritic, bony ass into Shatland when we had three bottles of her favorite wine?”
“I don’t mind helping people out. Everyone in Forever has helped another person at one time or another. It’s the free part that I mind. Jimmy Howard took an expensive bottle of my favorite wine last month, and you know he’s not going to repay the hundred and fifty bucks that the wine’s worth.”
“Jimmy couldn’t afford a bottle of the cheapest beer in town. Still, you didn’t have to give it to him, Aiden.”
Aiden snorted. “What was I supposed to do? Let Claire get nothing on their anniversary? The woman deserves more just for sticking with him for so long.”
“She’s a saint, all right,” added Trent.
Celia wanted to hear more about the people of Forever but decided to wait, since they’d just slowed down to cruise through the main street of Shatland. People stopped and watched the pickup, a few waving a greeting while many more simply stared.
A nervous tickle ran down her spine. “Am I just paranoid? Or is everyone watching us?”
An older couple stepped into a crosswalk and brought the pickup to a stop. Although they appeared to be a sweet elderly pair, the two paused right in front of the truck then shuffled around to face them.
“What the hell is your kind doing in town?” The old man’s face scrunched into a snarl.
“Our kind?” Celia gasped as the man raised his fist and shook it at her.
Aiden stiffened beside her and gripped the steering wheel. “Just ignore them. In the past, Shatland and Forever were rivals, and some of the older residents haven’t gotten over it. Most people are friendly now, and we’ve even had a few of their folks move to Forever while a couple of ours have moved to Shatland.”
“What was the rivalry about?” Had she gotten mixed up in a feud between townies?
“Territory, land, property lines, you name it. But it was really more a discrimination problem. They didn�
��t like our people, and we didn’t like theirs. Nowadays, we’re learning to coexist.”
Celia scanned the street, taking in the other residents who had stopped to watch the older man. “I don’t see much difference between the citizens of Forever and those of Shatland.”
“The differences are hidden under the skin.”
She gawked at Steve. Had he just growled?
At last the old man appeared to have had enough. Giving his fist one last shake, he took his lady’s hand and shuffled toward the other side of the street. Aiden drove them through the intersection then parked in a spot in front of Shatland Liquor.
“I’ll just be a minute.” Aiden slid out of the truck and strode toward the front door.
“We should give him a hand. Knowing Aiden, he probably ordered several cases so he won’t have to come up here again.” Trent jerked his head to the side, gesturing for Steve to come with him.
“Do you mind waiting, Celia?” Steve cupped her face and brushed his thumb over her cheek.
“Of course not. I’m fine. Take all the time you need.”
She watched as the two men followed Aiden into the store. When they’d disappeared, she let out a breath and tried not to let the young girls passing in front of the car, their gazes locked onto her, bother her. Looking the other way, she noticed a sign on the store at the end of the street.
“Sugarland Express Bakery. Hmm. I wonder if the guys thought about dessert? Even if they did, how can it hurt to have another one? I think it’s time to indulge my sweet tooth.”
Scooting out of the pickup, Celia grabbed her purse and hurried toward the shop. Cakes, pies, and other delectable desserts decorated the front window display. Her mouth watered just looking at them. Continuing on to the front door, she stopped and read the sign hanging on the window.
“Closed? Damn.”
“Are you looking for Willowby?”
Celia gasped and clutched her purse. A man in his mid-forties smiled at her. Unlike what most people wore, he had on a dark suit, a tie, and shiny black shoes. His white shirt was bright in the sunlight. Black eyes seemed to penetrate her, diving into her very soul. She shuddered as though a cold wind had swept through her.
